Comprehensive car insurance, while it does offer the most cover, doesn't cover everything.

Driving just a few kilometres over the speed limit?

Bald tires? One too many drinks after work?

Even if an accident is not your fault - if you are breaking the law or your car is not roadworthy - your insurance will not cover you or the damage incurred to your vehicle.

Technically, a blown brake bulb is enough to void some insurance contracts, even if the damage had nothing to do with the rear of your car.

Do you have children you'll be teaching to drive shortly?

Well, you'd better inform your insurer because little Johnny on his L-Plates may not be covered on your current policy.

Have you ever sold or bought a car privately?

Allowing a prospective buyer to take your car for a test drive is not covered and if you're that prospective buyer test driving someone else's wheels, you're the one who is not covered should an incident occur when you're driving.

And while insurers will encourage you to participate to make you a better driver, defensive driving courses aren't covered if they take place on a closed circuit or racetrack of any kind.

How about parking in the city while you're at an appointment and a riot breaks out?

No, sorry, not covered.

I know the list is a long one and perhaps you read the fine print and you knew all this.

But if you've learnt only one thing from this column, then I've done my job. So, now that you know where you stand, how do you go about getting the best value for money with comprehensive car insurance?

If you have a good driving history and are reasonably confident you won't be causing an accident, you can hedge your bets and talk to your insurer about increasing your excess and lowering your yearly premium.

This means you'll pay less per year, but should you have an accident your excess will be greater.

For example, my yearly insurance came in at $506 with an excess of $550.

I have the option of decreasing it to as little as $250 but then would pay an excess of $2500 if I had an accident.

Above all, I'd suggest developing a good relationship with your insurer that allows you to sit down and talk about these topics.

It's all too little, too late when you've had an accident to find these things out.

Sara Morrison is client services manager at South West Credit.